Sheet-metal-forming machine.



A. J. TOWNSEND.

SHEET METAL FORMING MACHINE.

- APPLICATION man MAY 26. 1911.

1 ,292, 1 58. Patented Jan. 21; 1919;

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-SHEET ME TAL FORMING MACHINE. APPLICATLON FILED MAYZS. 1917.

Patented Jan. 21, 1919.

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33311 I f WWW A. J. TOWNSEND.

SHEET METAL FORMl-NG MACHINE.

APPLICATION men MAY26.1917.

Patented Jan. 21, 1919.

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- UNITED STATE PATENT orrron.

ARTHUR J. TOWNSEND, OF CANTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL PRESSED STEEL COMPANY, OF MASSILLON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

SHEET-METAL-FORMING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J an, 21, 1919.

Application filed May 26, 1947. Serial No. 171,116.

To all. whom it may concern:

Canton, in the county of Stark and Be it known that I, ARTHUR J. TOWNSEND, a citizen of the United States, residin at tate of Ohio, have invented a new and useful sheet-Meta-l-Formiigg Machine, of which the following is a speci cation This invention relates to sheet metal forming machines and is more especially designed for bending sheet metal into the forms of metal lumber such as are in use at the present time, although the device is capable of use in forming sheet metal for various other purposes. v

The object of the present invention is to provide a device of the character referred to for forming flanges upon the opposite edges of metal sheets or plates.

A further object is the provision of a device of this character which may be easily and readily adjusted for forming metal sheets into metal lumber of different widths.

A still further object is the provision of means for forming flanges of different widths upon the metal strips.

A still further object is the provision of a forming roll especially adapted for'work of this nature.

\Vith these objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter described,

illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, size and minor details of construction may be made within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the inventlon.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a to plan view of a sheet metal forming mac ine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a section on'the line 44, Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55, Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a section through one of the formin rolls.

Fig. is an end view of a sheet before being passed through "the machine.

Fig. 8 is an end view of the sheet after passing through the rolls shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 9 is an end view of the sheet after being passed through the rolls shown in Fig. 3.

F 1g. 10 is an end view of the sheet after being passed through the rolls shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 11 is an end view of the finished sheet after passing through the rolls shown in Fig. 5 and being ejected from the machine.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring more especially to the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the base upon which the machine is mounted, said base being preferably rectangular in form as shown in the drawings. Thenumerals 2 indicate bearings which are mounted upon suitable feed. rolls in order to impart rotation thereto.

The device comprise essentially two parallel rows of brackets, each bracket carrying a pair of interfitting forming rolls, the rolls upon each bracket being arranged to cooperate with the rolls upon the o posite bracket to form the two longitudinal edges of the sheet as the sheet is passed through the machine. For the purpose of adjusting the forming rolls in order to accommodate sheets of various widths or to produce metal lumber of various widths all of the brackets upon one side of the machine are carried upon a table 5 which is mounted for slid'able movement upon the base 1 toward or away fr oni the roll carrying brackets upon the opposite side of said base. The adjustment of tl is table is accomplished by means of the screws 6, said screws being threaded through suitable bosses 7 formed upon the table 5 each screw being provided with an unthread:

ed portion 8, which is journaled through a in the bearings 9. Each of the screws 6 isprovided with a squared extremity 11 to which a wrench or crank may be applied to rotate the screws in order to move the table 5 toward or away from the pposite forming rolls.

The machine shown in the drawings is designed to form meta] lumber of the shape illustrated in Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive and this form of the machine comprises four sets of forming rolls through which the sheet passes, each set of forming rolls comprising two pair of oppositely disposed interfitting rolls arranged to cotiperate to form the two longitudinal edges of the sheet into the. required shape as it passes between said rolls but it will, of course, .be understood that different changes in the position and arrangement of the rolls or in the number of rolls used may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The first set of these forming rolls comprises the brackets 12 and 13 which .are mounted op posite to each other, the bracket 12 being carried by the table 5 and the bracket 13 be- .ing permanently mounted upon the base 1.

Each of these brackets is provided with a lower bearing 11 which may be formed integral with the bracket and with an upper bearing 15 slidably mounted in a suitable groove in the upper extremity of the bracket, an adjusting screw 16 being provided for adjusting said bearing with reference to the bearing 11. Short shafts 17 are journaled in the upper bearings 12 and 13 and carry rolls 18 and 19 respectively, said rolls being of the greatest diameter at their centers and tapering away from the centers at each side as shown in the drawings. A gear wheel 20 is mounted upon each of the shafts 17 and meshes with a similar gear wheel 21 mounted upon a suitable shaft located through the adjacent bearing let grooved rolls 22 being carried by said shafts and arranged to co-act with the upper rolls to form angular flanges 23 upon the longitudinal edges of the sheet as it passes between said rolls as best shown in Figs. 2 and 8 of the. drawings.

The next adjacent. set of rolls is carried upon the oppositely disposed brackets 21 and 25, the bracket 24 being mounted upon.

the table 5 and the bracket 25 permanently mounted upon the base 1. These brackets are preferably-located at a different angle to the base from the brackets 12 and 13 for purposes hereinafter shown. The lower bearings 26 are formed upon the brackets 2st and 25 and receive suitable shafts which carry the grooved rolls 2? and the gear said upper rolls being of suitable shape to of the sheet at right angles as indicated at 32 in'Figs. 3 and 9. I

In Fig. 4 is shown the third set of rolls which are carried upon the oppositely disposed brackets 33 and 34: respectiVely,'t-he bracket 33 being mounted upon a block 35 which is slidably mounted upon the table 5 and provided with slots 36 screws 37 or their equivalents being passed through said slots and into the table 5 in order to guide the block 35 as it is slidably moved upon the table The brackets 33 and 34 are preferably disposed in the same angles as the brackets 12 and 13 of the first set of rolls. The bracket 34 is mounted upon a similar block 38 slidably mounted upon the base 1 and provided with slots 39 through which screws 40 are located, said screws being seated in the base 1 to guide theblock as it is.

The shafts of the upper rolls are mounted in the slidable bearings 16 in the same manner as the other upper rolls above described. This set of rolls is arranged to form the flanges 47 upon the longitudinaledges of the sheet as shown in Figs. i-and 10.

The brackets 18 and 49 are mounted upon the blocks 35 and 38 respectively and are disposed in the same angles as the brackets 24 and 25. The lower bearings 50 are provided upon said brackets through which suitable shafts are ournaled carrying the lower grooved rolls 51 and the gears 52,"

which gears mesh with the gears mounted upon suitable shafts journaled in the adjustable bearings 54, the rolls 55 being mounted upon said shafts and arranged to interfit with the grooved rolls 51 in order to turn the flanges at right angles as indicated at 56 in Figs. 5 and. 11 thus producing the finished metal lumber of across section best shown in Fig. 11.

For the purpose of adjusting the blocks 35 and 38 toward or away from the longitudinal center of the machine in unison these blocks are provided with the internally screw threaded bosses 57 and 58 respectively. shaft-s 59 and 60. provided. with screw threaded portions being located through said bosses. One extremity of the shaft 5!) is journaled in a boss 61 formed upon the table. set collars 62 preventing any longitudinal movement of said shaft with relation to the table while the other extremity of said shaft is slidably mounted within a.

"boss 63 formed upon the base 1 and a pin- '64. The outer extremity of one of said shafts may be provided with a squared portion as indicated at 68 for the purpose of applying a wrench or crank in order to rotate said shaft and through the pinions 64 and 68 the other shaft is rotated, thus mov- 'ing the blocks 35 and 38 in unison toward or away from the longitudinal center of the machine to form metal 1" iber of different widths and to form di erent width of flanges 56 upon said metal lumber.

The upper rolls of each set are preferably formed In the manner best shown in Fig. 6, two conical disks 69 .ofany suitable steel or iron being connected together by means of screws 70, a comparatively thin disk 71 .having a pointed or sharpened periphe 72 being placed between saiddisks 69, the disk 71 being formed of hardened tool steel or the like. y this construction it is not necessary to discard the entire roll when the edge thereof has become worn, the disk 71 being easily removed and replaced by a new disk.

Although the drawings and above specification disclose the best mode in which I have contemplated embodying myinvention' I desire to be not limited to the details of such disclosure, for in the further practical application of my invention, many'changes in form and construction may be made, as

circumstances require or experience suggests, without departin from the spirit of the invention, within t e scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. A machine for forming sheet metal comprising a bed, a table adjustably mounted upon one side of said bed. a series of obliquely disposed brackets mounted upon said table, a second series of obliquely disposed.

brackets mounted upon said bed.and parallel to the brackets upon said table,

each of said brackets upon said bed being disposed opposite a bracket upon said table, each alternate pair of oppositely disposed brackets being of relatively greater incline and apair of interfitting rolls carried by each of said brackets the said rolls being disposed parallel to the brackets upon which they are carried and arrangedto form the longitudinal edges of a sheet or strip of metal as it is passed through aid machine.

2. In a machine for forming sheet metal comprising a bed, a table adjustably mounted upon one side of said bed, a series of obliquely disposed brackets mounted upon said table, asecond series of obliquely disposed brackets mounted upon said bed and parallel to the brackets upon said table, v

each of said brackets carrying a pair of interfit'ting forming rolls, the lower roll upon each of said brackets being grooved and having the periphery of its inner portion.

disposed in a horizontal plane, said rolls being arranged to receive a sheet or strip of metal and gradually bend the metal into a desired form.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name.

ARTHUR J. TOWNSEND. 

